Chapters in a Story
by LillyLilly
Summary: Days in Harvey and Donna's life as a couple. (Previously one shot Home Sweet Home, now multi-chapter, hence the title change)
1. Home Sweet Home

_Fucking shitty day_, Harvey thinks as he presses the button to the 50th floor. _No, scratch that. Fucking shitty week._

Half a dozen cases, all urgent. Half a dozen clients, all royally pissing him off. Why couldn't people just stick to the agreed upon plan? But no, this week they had all decided they fucking knew better.

He shuffles impatiently, looking up at the elevator ceiling. The merciless bright light does nothing but aggravate his headache. The latter has been a constant companion of his for the last four days. Not surprisingly, though. He's been working nonstop, missing meals, missing sleep. Missing Donna.

He'd called her about an hour ago when he realized he'd be a bit late for a meeting with a client, asking her to distract the woman until he got there. He had been pressed for time, though, so it was a straight to the point conversation that lasted under twenty seconds.

_Not unlike most of our interactions during the past few days_. And wasn't that just the cherry on top off all the other crap piling ever higher on his lap.

The twisted feeling of satisfaction he was getting by allowing himself to dwell in his own bad mood was rudely interrupted by a familiar _ding_ indicating he'd arrived at Specter Litt Wheeler William's floor.

_All right, here we go._ Let it never be said Harvey Specter was not good at compartmentalizing the shit out his problems when it came to charming a client.

This particular one's name was Anna Doyle, of Doyle Manufacturing. The company had been with the firm since the latter was still called Pearson Hardman, but Anna had only recently stepped in as CEO after her husband's heart attack had left him confined to his bed for the foreseeable future. They were being sued by one of their own former clients, who claimed Doyle leaked proprietary designs into the market after negotiations between the two companies fell through. From what Harvey had gathered so far, there was a good chance that was indeed the case.

He's halfway to the conference room when he crosses paths with the newly appointed CEO.

"Mrs. Doyle!" he says, putting on his most apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry I'm late for our meeting."

"No harm done, Mr. Specter. And, please, call me Anna", she replies, seeming genuinely not offended by his tardiness.

"Harvey. Shall we?" he gestures towards the glass door.

"Actually, I was just on my way out. I've spoken to Mr. Litt and he'll be handling this case for us."

"What?"

"Look Harvey, Tom told me you've been his guy from day one of our company's relationship with this firm, but the current situation is very delicate. This suit could not have hit us at a worst time. His doctors have made it clear he cannot handle any more stress, so we need the issue settled as easily and as quickly as possible."

"Anna", he touches her shoulder reassuringly. "I completely understand and I guarantee you I'm your best bet to make that happen."

"I was told ours would be the seventh case on your plate at the moment." She points out, looking skeptical. "Isn't that right?"

_What. The. Hell._

"I've been around the block for a long time, Anna" he replies smoothly. "I never bite more than I can chew."

"And that's probably true but, as I've said, we cannot take the chance that this time it won't be."

"Anna."

"I'm sorry, Harvey" she smiles softly, but her tone clearly indicates this is the end of the conversation. "I've spoken to your partner and I feel confident we're in good hands."

He can only watch, dumbfounded, as she walks away. _Goddamn Louis._

* * *

"You know, Louis" he says loudly as he barges into the man's office. "I thought the days of you going behind my back to try and steel my clients were over, but I guess old habits die hard and your deluded need to try to cross the finish line ahead of me dies harder."

Louis looks up from his computer with a frown. "What are you talking about, Harvey?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Louis. I'm talking about how in the span of fifteen minutes while waiting for me in the conference room Anna Doyle decided that she needs a lawyer who will be able to give her case his undivided attention, and given that I'm currently juggling six other cases, she feels you're probably a better man for the job."

"Harvey" the man begins, standing up.

"Tell me, Louis" Harvey continues without pause. "How would she know how many cases I've got going on and how did she arrive at the conclusion you, apparently, is as free as a bird?"

Truth be told, despite the fact that Harvey was the one that brought Doyle to the firm, the client is probably guilty and he's already juggling so many things his portrait would look like a Hindu God. Not having to add another ball to his act is actually a relief. But people had been making decisions left and right this week without even giving him a cursory _by the way _first, and that pissed him the hell off. This was just the last straw.

"Harvey", Louis steps forward, hands raised in surrender. "I assure you, I did not went to Anna Doyle behind your back and talked her into giving her case to me. In fact, I didn't even know she was in the building until Donna told me she had requested that I be her lawyer."

That gives Harvey pause.

"Donna told you."

"Yes. And I did point out to her that I had no wish to step on your toes, but she told me you wouldn't mind me taking this one off your hands given how busy you were with the Dillinger merger and everything else."

He can feel the steam coming out of his ears now. He could deal with Louis doing shit without talking to him first. _I mean, what else would be new_. But Donna?

"I'm really sorry, Harvey. I honestly thought I'd be helping you."

But Harvey is already stomping out the door.

* * *

"Donna, what the hell did you say to my client?"

Her expression tells him his reaction is not unexpected, and that, for some reason, just pisses him off even more.

"Harvey, before you say anything, there's something you should know."

"What I do know, Donna, is that I was running late for a meeting and I asked you to please keep Anna company until I got here, not to somehow convince her that it meant I was too busy to handle her case!"

"Yes, you did ask me to keep her company, Harvey", she keeps a conciliatory tone. "And while doing that, I found out something that made me think Louis would be a better fit for her case."

"I don't care what you found out!" he's full on yelling now. "You don't reassign my case without talking to me first!"

"She cheated on her husband, Harvey!" she stands up from her chair, finally raising her voice and effectively shutting him up for a second.

"Yeah", she continues more calmly. "And she thinks there's a good chance the guy she had the affair with was the one who leaked the information."

Donna steps closer to him, purposely making sure only he can hear her before continuing. "And given your issues with infidelity I knew that, once you found out, fighting to save the woman's company would have been a hard pill for you to swallow, so I steered the case towards Louis."

Another day he would have made an effort to actually hear what she's saying to him. He would have looked at her, wide eyes staring unwaveringly at his own, and inevitably crashed into the reality that it's _Donna_ talking. But today he's in no mood to be the one doing the listening.

"Donna, Louis may be managing partner now, but this was Jessica's firm and when she left it, she left it to me, because I'm the best goddamn lawyer here. I'm perfectly capable to put my personal feelings aside to represent a client."

"Maybe you are the best lawyer, Harvey", she counters. "But you're not the best lawyer for Anna."

"That wasn't your decision to make!"

"Maybe not! But I was the one in the room and I had to make a choice!" she exclaims, running out of patience. "I chose based on what's best for the firm and for the client, and I'm not going to apologize for it!"

"Bullshit!" he shouts. "We're not playing against time here! Hell, the clock has barely even started running! You could have come to me, made your case and let me make up my own damn mind! Which is, by the way, how you and I have always operated!"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you changing the M.O. now, given the other thing that's changed recently, says a lot."

"You think I was afraid to argue with you because we're sleeping together?" she asks incredulously.

"I think if you were worried my personal shit would interfere with my professional behaviour, you should probably take a good look in the mirror" he says as he walks out of her office.

* * *

She knows she should give it a minute or sixty before going in for round two. _Yep_. In the mood he's in, _there will be a round two._

But the reality is that she was all out off her usual coolness long before he came barging into her office to bite her head off. She's had a headache for the past four days. Not surprisingly, though. This week she's had to put out one fire after the other, none of them her own, and people have a harder time remembering to be grateful when they're in the middle of a shitstorm. She misses going longer than five hours without wearing heels, misses being spoken to in an acceptable volume. And she misses Harvey.

They had barely talked to, let alone seen each other during the past few days. The business filled half a minute run-ins and phone calls served only to rub her face in the fact that she's had to wake up alone in the morning.

_And after thirteen years I don't deserve another fucking day of that shit. _And she also didn't deserve to be accused of not doing her job properly by the very person she's been wanting to crawl into to find some peace.

So it's not ten seconds before she's marching off after him. She has the presence of mind to close his office door before restarting the match.

"I don't care how bad your day was or what you think I did, but you do not come into _my_ office and start yelling at me like I'm a first year associate!"

He rounds in on her lightening fast. "Oh, so I can't talk to you like you're a first year associate but it's ok for you to hand off my cases to someone else as if I am one."

"Quit the bullshit, Harvey" she retorts. "You know full well that's not what I did. Just like you know Louis handling Doyle is the right call."

"You know what, Donna, I don't have time for this."

"Neither do I, Harvey. You're not the only one who's busy and you certainly don't have the monopoly on having a shitty week."

He turns around and heads for his desk, but she's not leaving before she gets a goddamn apology.

"My M.O. has always been to do what I had to to protect the firm. To protect _you_. And every time I've kept something from you or I made a decision regarding the firm without consulting you, it was with that goal in mind."

"Really?" he shoots at her. "You were protecting me when you decided to tell Kessler about Lowe going back on their deal after you said you wouldn't?"

It feels like he's just slapped her. Like her brain can't process what she's heard, but her gut got the message just fine. She doesn't want to cry in front of him, however the tears come so fast her vision is blurry in a second. So she just turns around and walks away.

* * *

Harvey regrets the words before he even finishes saying them, but the look on Donna's face afterwards makes him want to go to Hardman with a gun and tell him to just pull the trigger, because he's _the biggest fucking asshole, ever. _

He watches her walk out of his office but the apology gets stuck behind the knot in his throat. He's _so fucking tired_. He's lost count of how many times this week he thought about just telling everyone to go to hell before grabbing her hand, taking her back to his apartment and doing nothing that couldn't be done from inside the perimeter of his bed.

He wants to close his eyes and hear nothing but her breathing, feel nothing but her body against his, and he wants _to be home_.

* * *

Donna decides everyone can go to hell, grabs her purse and heads to her apartment.

She kicks off her heels at the door, pours herself a glass of wine and almost spills half its contents when she lets herself fall against the sofa cushions. She's _so fucking tired_. And she's hurt. She had apologized to him the morning after they finally got their shit together for not trusting him to come through during Thomas' deal fiasco. She had been well in her rights to want to move on, but that didn't mean she hadn't made a wrong choice. And she's lost count of how many times in her mind she has apologized to him since, because she's never been good with letting go of guilt, especially when it comes to Harvey.

She wants to close her eyes and hear nothing but his heartbeat, fell nothing but his warmth around her, and she wants _to be home_.

* * *

It's a few hours later and he's standing in front of number 206. He knows he sucks at this, but he also knows what are the first words that need to come out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry", he says as soon as she opens the door.

She's still wearing the same dress she wore at the office, but her hair is messy, like she's been carelessly raking her hand through the strands, and she looks as exhausted as he feels. She steps aside, silently inviting him in.

"Do you want a drink?" she asks, making her way to the kitchen.

"Yeah."

He perches himself at edge of her dinning room table, keeping his distance as he watches her grab two glasses from the cupboard and set them down on the counter. His eyes follow her as she moves around and that alone soothes him. For the past thirteen years, whenever he felt himself drifting, just looking at her has usually been enough to ground him.

He only registers she's in front of him when she hands him his glass. He gently takes it along with the one she has in her other hand, setting them both on the table.

"I was out of line earlier", he begins. "When I yelled at you in your office… and in mine."

He rubs his forehead, shaking his head. "If I had to defend Doyle I would, but yeah, Louis will probably do a better job than me on this one. I guess I owe him an apology too", he adds sheepishly.

He takes her silence to mean she doesn't disagree.

* * *

She looks at him, tie hanging loose around his neck and hair sticking out at weird angles, like he's been aggressively raking his hand through the short strands. He looks as exhausted as she feels.

"What I said about Thomas", he starts with a deep breath.

"You're still angry with me about that", she interrupts him.

He looks up at her. "I was never angry with you, Donna."

"Could have fooled me."

He tilts his head and purses his lips.

"Fine", she concedes. "You weren't angry. But you _were_ hurt. Still are", she adds the last part softly.

"Perhaps I am", he says.

"Harvey", she steps closer to him. "If I could go back and change it…"

"I know", he pauses. "But you shouldn't."

She's about to ask, but he beats her to it. "I'm here now, so everything turned out the way it was supposed to."

Her heart clenches at that, because the last time she herself had said those words, she'd been dead wrong. At this moment he's right, though, it's time they both let this go.

"You were right too", she tells him.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that so I can get it on record?" he says, and has the audacity to be goddamn smirking.

Donna rolls her eyes at him, biting a smile, and turns to walk away. He pulls her right back and wraps his arms around her waist, holding her in place.

"What was I right about?"

He still looks far too pleased with himself, but _honesty deserves honesty_, she thinks.

"About me changing the M.O."

Harvey looks surprised at that statement.

"Maybe I did want to avoid arguing with you now that we're…"

She doesn't finish the sentence because 'sleeping together' doesn't really cover it.

"Partners?" he offers.

_From idiot to goddamn perfect in less than ten seconds._

"Yeah", she breathes softly.

"Don't worry", he blinks. "I've entered this relationship fully expecting that the lectures would increase in frequency, not the other way around."

_And we're back to the first adjective._

Luckily for her, now she has a new and much more satisfying way to shut him up.

* * *

_Home sweet home._


	2. Date Night

"Donna, do you have a minute?"

She looks up from the tablecloth of files currently covering her desk to see Louis' head poking into her office.

"Of course, Louis", she smiles, glad for the momentary distraction. "What can I do for you?"

He makes his way in but she speaks again before he has a chance to answer.

"You took Sheila to Le Bernardin, didn't you."

"Yes, I did", he nods as he sits down. "Last night. And I've got to say, Donna, you were absolutely right. It was incredible."

"I told you."

"Yes, you did. I mean, we had _the_ _best_ oysters I've eaten in years. And, I'm sure I don't have to tell you, oysters are a great aphrodisiac."

Donna's smile trembles slightly as she does her best to keep it from changing into a grimace.

"Sheila and I made love with such passion I'm sure a child would have been conceived had she not been pregnant already", he finishes solemnly.

_Well, that was actually less colourful than expected_, she thinks.

"I'm glad you had a good time, Louis." She leaves it open to interpretation if she means at the restaurant or later on in the evening.

"It is I who owe you gratitude, my friend. But that's not the only reason I stopped by."

A brief pause indicates he finds the subject he's about to broach rather delicate.

"I had a meeting with Kessler earlier today", Louis begins tentatively. "And when I asked him how things were going between you two he told me you guys broke it off right after Robert's disbarment."

_Oh, yeah, about that…._

She and Harvey had agreed they wouldn't make any kind of announcement regarding the change in their relationship, nor would they hide it. People would find out when they found out. But since the rhythm they had naturally slipped into didn't involve PDA at the office, Louis' assumption that she was still seeing Thomas was not surprising.

"We did", she nods.

"Donna, I'm so sorry! I can't believe I didn't realize this sooner", he leans forward earnestly. "There's been so much going on I'm more stretched than Baryshnikov's tights, between trying to hold the firm together with Robert gone and Sheila getting these insane cravings every other day at three in the morning for things that inexplicably in this day and age still cannot be delivered and the midwife classes have been a nightmare to fit into my schedule but, God, that's no excuse" he says without coming up for air. "I should have asked you if everything was all right ages ago!"

He sounds so genuinely upset for her, and Donna feels a wave of fondness for the man.

"Louis, don't worry about it. You're the managing partner and a father to be, so I'll forgive your lack of focus on my love life", she playfully tries to reassure him.

"Yes, but you and I are best friends. And best friends should know when there's something major going on in the other's life", he says with complete conviction. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Louis."

"I know you really liked him. Perhaps it's worth giving the relationship a second chance?"

"I don't think so", she infuses the answer with certainty.

"Well, you deserve nothing less than complete happiness so, as long as you really are ok…"

"I am", Donna replies softly. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. In fact, I have yet to make up for my absent-mindedness."

"Louis, that's not…"

"It is very much necessary", he doesn't let her finish. "Our friendship is like a rare flower that must be tended with the utmost care, and I'm ready to put my best gardening gloves back on. Tonight. Dinner. You and me."

"Actually, tonight's not…"

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Donna", he says getting up. "And I promise, you'll be getting a royal treatment befitting the queen that you are."

He looks at her expectantly.

_So sweet, and Her Majesty does appreciate his acknowledgment of her crown…_

"I look forward to it, Louis."

He smiles widely and gives her an emphatic nod before turning to leave.

"And Louis?" Donna calls before he crosses the threshold.

"Yeah?"

"'_I count myself in nothing else so happy As in a soul remembering my good friends'"_, she quotes. "Especially my best friend."

* * *

Harvey closes his eyes as he rolls his head clockwise in an attempt to loosen the muscles in his neck. The action is accompanied by a series of cracks worthy of frightening dogs on New Year's.

_Shit. I really need to stop skipping the gym._

There's a soft knock at his door and he turns to find the very reason he's been otherwise occupied in the mornings of late walking into his office.

"Hey", he greets her with a smile. "What's up?"

"Well, apparently Louis and Sheila made love so passionately last night he may have gotten her pregnant with their second child already", she states as she gracefully sits herself down on one of the chairs across his desk.

"Donna", he cringes. "For future reference, when people ask that question it's mostly rhetorical. They don't really want to know what's up. And I most certainly did not want or need to know _that_."

"I'm sorry, Harvey. I'd tell you something else about my day, but can't seem to remember anything that came before or after the moment this truth was revealed to me."

He smirks as they share a look of commiseration.

"How's your day going?", she asks, picking up one of the baseballs displayed on his desk and turning it in her hands.

"I've just been informed by my niece that her archenemy has decided he wants to be a lawyer when he grows up, so I now need to find another job because lawyers are, and I'm quoting, annoying jerks."

Donna's mouth shapes into a perfect O.

"You're a lawyer?", she asks in overly dramatic surprise. "I thought you just really enjoyed arguing with everyone all the time! Wait… that would _also _make you an annoying jerk."

A few different ways of wiping the smugness of her face cross his mind, but the glass walls prevent any kind of follow through. He opts instead for skipping right over it.

"Did you want something, Donna?"

"Actually", her expression morphs into one of regret. "I have to reschedule dinner tonight."

_Oh._

"So you're here to cancel on me and you thought nightmares and mockery were the best choices with which to lead this conversation?"

He thinks he's successful at hiding the depth of his disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Harvey, but Louis insisted on taking me out tonight and I…"

"Hang on", he interjects incredulously. "You're ditching me for Louis?"

"I'm not ditching you, Harvey", Donna says patiently. "He realized Thomas and I broke up and he just wants to make sure I'm all right. It's a kind and thoughtful gesture and I didn't have the heart to tell him no."

"You could have told him you were busy tonight."

The retort is out before he can stop himself, and it's embarrassing how whiny he sounds. The woman has him _so goddamn whipped_, and by the look she gives him, she's well aware of that fact.

"You could join us", she says.

"And somehow be the third wheel on a date that involves my girlfriend and _Louis_? I'll pass." He still has some dignity left.

"Don't worry, pretty", she puts the baseball back on its place and adds with a wink. "I'll wait to have dessert with you."

His eyes follow her as she strides towards the door.

"Just stay away from the oysters, will you."

He wiggles his eyebrows at her when she turns around.

"You knew", Donna shakes her head grinning.

"First thing he told me this morning", Harvey says. _First goddamn thing._

* * *

She asks Louis to drop her at the firm, telling him there are some files she needs to get before going home. Stepping into the fiftieth floor, however, she heads straight to Harvey's office.

He's placing the needle down on a record, his back to the door, suit jacket hanging on the back of his chair.

"Hey", she whispers not to startle him.

"Hey", he turns. "How was your date?"

"Good enough I may have agreed to another one next week", she teases him back, placing her own coat and purse down on the sofa. She recognizes the song as one of his dad's.

"Hum. Maybe I'll invite him to join me in the ring that morning, just to make sure he can keep his stamina up later."

Donna rolls her eyes at him fondly. _Idiot_.

He holds his hand out to her then, an invitation to dance. At this hour they're probably the only ones left in the office, so she closes the space between them without hesitation.

The guitar plays a gentle melody, effortlessly guiding their heartbeats to join in its rhythm. She rests her chin on top of Harvey's shoulder, breathing him in. They stay silently like that even as the song ends, and then another.

"I do believe I was promised dessert", he murmurs as he places a kiss behind her ear.

But she's much too content to move right now.

"I'm afraid a deliciously looking lemon meringue pie might have made a liar out of me."

She feels the hairs at the base of her neck move as he huffs in response. Her right hand lets go of his left as she wraps both arms around him, pulling them even closer.

"Give this a few more minutes", she tells him. "I promise it'll be worth the wait."

* * *

The taxi is halfway down the block when Louis realizes he left his dictaphone on his desk. He has court first thing in the morning and the device is currently storing all the points he's planning on arguing during the trial, so he has no choice but to ask the driver to turn the car around.

He finds it exactly where he left it. Coming in he had noticed Donna's office was already hidden in darkness, but as he steps back into the corridor he sees there's still light streaming out of Harvey's. A few years ago he would have gone over to find out exactly what the man was working so late on and how the information could be used to get his name on the wall, but now he's happy to pop in just to wish his other best friend a good night.

He stops short when he reaches a place from where he can see inside the room.

They're swaying in place, cheek to cheek, not a hair's width of space between them. Donna's expression is a picture of happiness, but it's Harvey's face that lets him know exactly what he's witnessing.

A toothy smile spreads on his own face, and Louis isn't ashamed to admit he's teary eyed as he makes his way to the elevators.

* * *

Disclaimer: Donna's quote to Louis is from Shakespeare's Richard II.

Also: I meant for the first chapter to be a stand alone, but then I wrote this one and I thought it fit well in the same story.

Last but not least: To everyone who took the time to read and show their appreciation in this and any other way, a huge thank you!


	3. Miscommunication (part one)

Harvey walks towards his office, absently nodding to a few people he passes on the way. _Dot the 'i's on the Thorpe merger paperwork, call Wallace back, schedule Carter's deposition… _he thinks, running through the rest of his to do list for the day. His mind is pulled back to the present when his phone begins to buzz and he looks at the caller's ID. He waits until he's behind the glass door and out of earshot before picking up.

"Hi, mom."

"Hello, Harvey. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. Is everything all right?"

"Actually, no", he frowns as she answers. "Marcus needs your help."

* * *

"One minute I'm here minding my own job and the next I'm having to drag my ass downtown to bring the man a new pair of pants."

"How big was it?" Donna is laughing as she asks.

"Red, I made a point of keeping my eyes well above his neckline. Louis' white behind is an image I do not need in my head."

"We both know that ship has sailed a long time ago."

Gretchen purses her lips at the COO.

"The tear was large enough to show he had on goddamn floral underwear", she says. "Grown ass man with roses covering his business. Lord, help us."

Donna is still chuckling when she notices Harvey approaching her office.

Gretchen follows her gaze and takes his arrival as her cue to leave.

"Please tell me this one leaves the stamps for his _legal_ briefs", she throws over her shoulder when she passes him at the door.

"Harvey", Donna greets him, voice shaking slightly with mirth. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to go to Boston for a couple of days", he says as he walks towards the window, keeping his eyes on the city's skyline.

His tone is enough to sober her up.

"Why? What happened?"

"My mother just called", she notices his right hand curling into a fist. "Katie found out Marcus gambled again and she's going to ask for full custody of the kids."

_Shit._

"God, Harvey. I'm so sorry."

She reins in the desire to reach out and unfold his fingers with her own. Angry Specter does a poor job of differentiating between compassion and pity.

"Can you help him fight this?"

"Help him?", he raises his eyebrows as he turns to her. "Donna, last time I told him I was putting in the agreement that if he ever gambled again, she'd get the children, and I'd represent her to make sure it happened."

"Harvey, you weren't serious about that last part."

"Wasn't I? He knew what was at stake, and he did it anyway!"

"He's an addict", she says, lowering her voice in an attempt to bring his volume down as well.

"He's an adult! These are his children!"

_All right. _Arguing blame won't get them anywhere.

"If you feel you can't help him as his lawyer, then you shouldn't. As things stand now, if Katie gets full custody, it's on him. But if you do anything that increases the odds of that happening… he'll never forgive you", she tilts her head to make sure his eyes find hers. "And, more importantly, you'll never forgive yourself."

Her words are followed by a silence that stretches on for a little too long. The look on his face tells her he's struggling with whether or not to say what's on his mind.

_Do you want me to go with you?_ The offer is on the tip of her tongue, but she can't get it past her lips. It's been five months since they changed the parameters of their relationship, but it still moves forward mostly on tact. They feel their way along, advancing or retreating based on thirteen years of experience, with very little verbal communication regarding the directions. And asking this, she feels, would be a _big overstep_.

"Do you want me to let Louis know you're going?", she opts to ask instead.

"Thanks", Harvey nods. He seems almost disappointed.

They stare at each other for a few more seconds.

_Tell me._

But he just gently squeezes her arm before making his way out of her office.

* * *

Harvey doesn't fidget. If he ever had such a habit, it had been trained out of him during the course of his life as a lawyer. And a poker player. But that means it's two hours into the ride up to Boston and he has barely moved a muscle since sitting down. The tension has him coiled tighter than a spring.

He'd gone straight home from Donna's office, packed an overnight bag and asked Ray to drop him at Pennsylvania Station. The trip isn't a short one, but he needs the time to wrap his head around what's he about to walk into.

_ A huge fucking mess. Jesus._

Of course he wasn't about to volunteer to represent Katie, his earlier outburst notwithstanding, but he's far from sure he can represent his brother. The only way they'd have a chance of winning hasn't changed since last time but, even if Marcus somehow agreed to it now, the context is different. Harvey's no longer willing to have the ruining of his former sister-in-law reputation on his conscience anymore than he'd be willing to act on her behalf to win custody of the children.

_Fuck!_

He'll have to be there as a brother and not as lawyer, and he's very much aware of which suit fits him better.

* * *

It's twenty past seven when he enters the restaurant. The place is packed, immersed in the familiar mild cacophony of voices and clinking of silverware. He makes his way to a door near the end of the bar, raising his hand to the man behind the counter. Joe is a childhood friend of Marcus, so he doesn't question when Harvey lets himself in.

His brother is pacing slowly in the space between the desk and the wall of the small office, a cell phone stuck between his ear and his shoulder. He looks up when the outside noise suddenly gets louder, but doesn't seem surprised by the visitor's identity.

"Frank, I'll have to call you back". He puts the phone in his pocket and sighs. "Mom called you."

"Of course she called me, Marcus", Harvey says as he shuts the door behind him.

"Look, I'll save us some time here", his brother begins. "Everything you're thinking of me right now, I'm thinking it too, only worse. So I know what you're going to say. I screwed up. I screwed up and I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

"Actually, my version has a lot more profanity in it", he replies with more bite than humour.

"And I deserve every bit of it, Harvey. And maybe I'm a coward for leaving it to mom to break the news, but I wasn't sure you'd come if I called and I really need your help."

"You're my brother. I'll always be here if you need me", he braces for the fallout. "But this time I'm not here as your lawyer."

"What do you mean?", Marcus asks, frowning.

"I mean I can't represent you on this."

"Harvey…"

"You remember what I said last time about what it would take for you to have a chance of winning this?"

"Yes, and I told you to find another way. And you did."

"And you just made sure Katie will never listen to anything I say ever again!" he exclaims. "Look, there's no amount of talking on my part that's going to convince her not to follow through with this after what you've done."

Marcus shakes his head, looking at the back of a 4 by 6 frame propped up on his desk that Harvey knows has a picture of two smiling children at Coney Island.

"Fine. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Really?", he demands. "What about her being a good mother who loves her kids? Are you telling me you're ready to drag her through the mud in court?"

"You just said I had no other choice!", his brother shouts.

"You don't have a choice on how, but you do have a choice on _if_ you do this!"

"So you're telling me I should just give up on my kids?"

"I'm not telling you anything, Marcus", he exhales. "I'm just trying to make sure you'll be able to stand in front of a judge when it actually comes down to it. Because I won't."

"Harvey …"

"And even then, given everything that's happened, there's a good chance you will lose this fight, not to mention any goodwill Katie may still have left towards you."

"So you not being here as a lawyer is about winning?", Marcus asks incredulously. "The great Harvey Specter won't take on a case when there's a chance he might lose?"

"No, this is about me not wanting to be the one to put an innocent woman through the pain and humiliation it will take to get this done!"

"You didn't seem concerned about that the last time!"

"You know goddamn well that's not true", Harvey's voice drops dangerously low. "And if you can't see the difference between the situation then and now, maybe you don't deserve to win this fight anyway."

"You're right, Harvey", he concedes, deflating. "I'm sorry. But you're the best lawyer out there, and I need you to do this. Please."

"I'm sorry." And he is, but he _Can't_.

"Goddammit, Harvey! You picked a hell of a time to grow a conscience!"

"I'll make sure you get someone else I trust can do the job", he ignores the jibe. "And I'll be here for you as family."

"That's rich", Marcus snorts humourlessly.

"Excuse me?"

"I can count on my fingers the number of times you've been here as _family_ in the past twenty years. And in every one of those times you made sure to let us know how much we were letting you down. You doing the same thing now shouldn't come as a surprise."

"All right, Marcus", he says, deciding he's done with this conversation for the moment. "If that's how you want to interpret reality…"

"Reality? You claim to the world you're all about loyalty, but when it comes to your family, you're all about judgment. And that makes you a fucking hypocrite. There's some reality for you!"

Harvey's hand is already on the doorknob.

"I bet mom calling you had nothing to do with you showing up here now! Tell me, how long did Donna have to nag you before you decided to get on the train? Do you think she'll ever get tired of explaining to you how to do the right thing?"

"That's enough!", he turns to find his brother's face two feet away from his own.

"Do you think one day she'll decide she's had enough and tell you 'I'm sorry' when you need her?"

After that, the fist he's been making for the past six hours finally finds a target.


	4. Miscommunication (part two)

His hand _Hurts_. He looks out the window, but the light inside the train car and the late hour means he's left staring at his own reflection. _Shit_. The swearing almost comes out loud.

He knows going back to New York now means another extra trip to Boston tomorrow, but with his mind focused elsewhere his subconscious gave the cab driver the station's address instead of the hotel's, and there was still one departure time left on the board when he arrived.

He's as frustrated at the moment as he was on the journey into Massachusetts. And just as before, the source of his frustration lies in the city of destination. Clearly the custody situation was no less of a mess than previous to his display of boxing ability, but Marcus had touched a nerve he had managed to avoid looking into since leaving Donna's office.

_Yes_, her getting tired of explaining his feelings to him, as Scotty had once so eloquently put it, is one of his _fucking nightmares_. _Yes_, he's terrified of the day when she decides she has better things to do with her life then deal with his bullshit. Their relationship may have changed, but those fears have not. He doesn't think they ever will.

_Will you come with me? _The question had been on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Asking for personal favours on his own behalf would always be a struggle for him. _Besides, she's Donna_. _Isn't she supposed to just know?_ And if she did know and didn't call him on it, _doesn't that mean she didn't want to do it?_ He's a lot on a good day.

He also knows he should go straight to his apartment and get some sleep before doing any more talking.

_Yeah, that's likely._

* * *

Donna wakes up suddenly, too tired to have slept longer than a couple of hours. She rolls over and reaches for her cell on the bedside table. It takes a few seconds before she can look at the screen without the light making her eyes shut completely in protest. The clock tells her it's 01:36.

There's a noise from somewhere else inside her apartment. _What the hell?_ She goes completely still, but she can definitely hear sounds besides the rapidly accelerating beating of her own heart. A cold dread spreads through her with lightening speed. Only one other person has the key to her door, and _he's in another state right now_.

Still holding her phone, she gets out of bed and pads softly towards the corridor. She reaches a point where she can see there's light on in the living room. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ She's about to make her way back to the bedroom to dial 911 when he comes into view.

"Hey."

"Jesus Christ!", she exclaims. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry", Harvey says. He looks exhausted as he sits down, swirling the drink in his hand.

"I thought you were staying in Boston tonight."

"Didn't feel like sleeping at a hotel."

_Things went worse than expected then._

"Are you ok?", she asks him, finally entering the room and joining him on the sofa.

"Tired."

She knows he wants to talk, despite the clipped answers. He wouldn't have come to her if he didn't. Her eyes roam his profile, from the strong jawline to the bobbing of his Adam's apple has he swallows, the motion more apparent with the loose tie and open buttons on his shirt collar. Her gaze moves further down, until she notices the swollen fingers.

"What happened to your hand?"

"It didn't agree with Marcus' face", he deadpans.

"Tell me you didn't."

"You can't honestly be surprised, Donna."

_Guess not_. She sighs.

"I'll get you some ice."

She's not worried he offered to represent Katie in the custody dispute, the earlier pep talk she'd given him notwithstanding. She realizes his outburst had just been a knee-jerk reaction to the news. And as angry as he is with his brother, she doesn't believe he'd let that anger manifest itself physically. Not unless Marcus had said something to push him over the edge.

"So…", she prompts him once she's back by his side.

"So I told him I wouldn't be his lawyer."

"I'm guessing he didn't take it well."

"No", he finishes the drink in one gulp. "He didn't."

He doesn't volunteer anything else. _Direct questions it is, then_.

"And how exactly did the argument between your hand and his face go?"

"Does it matter? It's not the first time one of us has thrown a punch at the other, and I'm sure it won't be the last."

"It does matter, Harvey. However much he screwed up, you still chose to go there and support him. What did he say that took you so off course?"

"Called me a hypocrite for preaching loyalty but not showing it to my family."

_That is a low blow, but not low enough._

"And?"

"And what?"

"Harvey, we both know it would take more than that to set you off."

"Maybe I was already set off by the fact that he made a liar out of me to Katie and now I'm the asshole for not wanting to be the one to clean his shit up!", he raises his voice.

"And you knew all that going in."

"And you just agreed you're not surprised by the outcome of the meeting, Donna! If you wanted a different one, perhaps you should have been there!"

"What?" she asks, confused.

"Nothing", he shakes his head.

_Is he actually upset with her right now?_

"Harvey, if you wanted me there, all you had to do was ask!"

"When have I ever had to ask you to do anything? You've just known and you've just done it!"

"This is different!", she cries.

"How's this fucking different?"

"Are you kidding me?" she yells back. "Because! For the past thirteen years I've had to be goddamn clairvoyant when deciding how much I could step into your personal space without you freaking the hell out! And if I had ever offered to go with you to Boston you'd have pushed me away so fast I'd still have whiplash!"

"We're together now, Donna! I'm not going to push you away when things get personal!"

"Well, maybe you didn't make that clear until now!"

* * *

_Holy shit. Is she actually navigating through this relationship not knowing exactly where she stands? _

He really looks at her for the first time that night. Wide eyes, messy red hair falling past her shoulders, gray sweatpants and one of his T-shirts.

_Jesus._

But then again, _hasn't he been doing the same?_

"Donna, I could say I won't freak out on you again, but we both know that's probably not true", he takes her hand in his uninjured one. "But I promise you, it won't mean anything more than that."

She takes a deep breath and gives him a small smile.

"Good."

"Good", he repeats.

The exchange is followed by a silence that stretches on for just long enough.

"He asked me if I thought one day you'll decide you've had enough and just tell me 'sorry' when I need you", Harvey says softly.

He can see it takes a moment for her to understand what he's referring to.

"What do you think the answer to that is?", Donna asks him.

"It's happened before."

He remembers the panic attack that followed vividly.

"We're together now, Harvey", she echoes his words back at him. "And I won't ever have enough of you."

_Good_.

"Donna", he decides it's time to get over himself. "Will you come with me to Boston tomorrow?"

"Yes", she answers.

After that, he lets go of the breath he's been holding for the past twelve hours, leans in, and kisses her.

* * *

Once more, a giant thank you to everyone who took the time to read and show their appreciation for this story!


End file.
